Thanksgiving is one of America’s most beloved holidays. It’s time to spend with your family and eat great food. In many school districts across the country, they give students a few extra days off to celebrate. In Fairfax County, schools get Wednesday through Friday off for the holiday. However, many students end up missing the whole week due to traveling plans. Are students deserving of a little extra break for their hard work throughout the quarter?

Some say that we already have too many days off during the second quarter of the school year, but I personally disagree. Sally Kim, a student at Oakton, seems to agree; “with the weekend included Thanksgiving break is a full school week off. We have already had too many days off”. I think Thanksgiving week is an important time to have the opportunity to get together with family and friends that you normally might not be able to spend lots of time with. The December holidays should not be the only time for family gatherings to occur. Students are often burdened with lots of school work around the holiday season. A longer break could help students avoid burnout.

If Thanksgiving break was longer, students would be able to spend more time with their families. Teachers are  giving out so much homework on a daily basis throughout the year, it seems as though family time is always given up for grades and completing numerous assignments. Some students are also still given work to finish over the break, so more time off means more time to figure out how to balance out family life with school life.

While some students expressed that with the traveling we have to do, we need more time off. Karen Donohue expressed “traveling takes a long time. I don’t wanna spend 9 hours in the car just to spend a few days with my family.” Many families have to travel to go see them for Thanksgiving. After winter break students don’t have a long break until spring break. Without a minor pause in between, students don’t have something to look forward to and will start to burn out. It can also provide teachers a time to catch up with their grading. In addition, many students could use the break to finish any of their missing work. The longer break would give an opportunity for students to relax and take time for themselves.

The importance of taking breaks and time off does not provide much for students. A week-long break for Thanksgiving would allow students to relax. There is not a break until winter break and then after that spring break. Which is a lot of time and school work starts to pile up. Even though Thanksgiving break isn’t as long as some students may hoped for, it gives us a much needed break to destress.